Merry go round

Every last friday of the month, I jump on the 'Merry go round'. What is the Merry go round exactly? Each month, a group of craftswomen from around the world join together and give their reponses to the same question/challenge. Since I forgot to post last Friday, I post the first Friday of this month! :)

This month's topic is "Since you started blogging, has your style/content/feeling about blogging changed?"

I started blogging on september 25th 2007, nearly a month after I set up my etsy shop. It seemed a natural thing to do somehow as I wanted to use my blog to connect with the community that I was part of. I didn't know much about blogging and had cold feet to start off with and didn't know really what to write about. I also wonderded what would actually interest people to come and read my blog and what I would do if no one would ever visit my blog...

Being an active member of a team on etsy certainly helped me to overwin my fear and there was always a teammember who cared to drop by and be nice to me. Soon, I started to become a bit more confident about blogging but really, the blogcontent I wrote back then was much different then now.
Whenever one of my items would hit the frontpage of Etsy, I would blog about it with a screenshot and many yay's but after a while I thought 'who cares if my item is on the frontpage of Etsy really?'
It was then that I felt I needed to change my blog to a place where people would want to come to see work in progress and it meant heaps to me to get feedback on them.
I learned that a blog is a very valuable tool to share work and processes. It made me grow as a maker and a person.

In fall of 2008, I started my '99 feelings'-project and for about 3 months, I made a feeling each day and posted it in my blog & on Flickr. I don't really know what happened but people started to come back every day to see what feeling I had made and that kept me going. It was the power & feedback of you who helped me finish this project. I don't think I would have managed it without any interaction. As a maker, you are often 'alone' and knowing that there were so many people who cared,  it really moved me. What an incredible community I am part off!
At the end of the project, I posted this little video and I still love it to pieces...

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

My blog became a second 'home' where I met up with creative souls worldwide. So many awesome people out there! I posted tutorials and little tips & tricks & I'm so glad they are enjoyed so much. If they make you want to run to the craftshop and get crafty, I've reached my goal. I think that creativity can't be stimulated enough & if a little push is all you need, I'm happy!

There was a time that I was very organised, had my daily posts scheduled and an actual plan on what to post when. Without realising, that put a lot of pressure on me and when I took a blog break last year due to my mom's illness, it hit me that there was more then just blogging.
It took me a lot of courage to come back after that break and somehow I still haven't found my blogging mojo back. I try though and I actually start enjoying it more now that I don't put the pressure of daily posts on me anymore. I don't want to be repetitive and to be honest, I haven't done much new things lately (except for the collaboration work) and it kind of feels like I'm repeating the things I do all the time. And you have all seen that, right? I feel like I just bore you with yet another picture of sanding work, glueing magnets, making singing birds,...  So, I try to avoid to post about what I make daily but will show you the 'special' things I make. And hopefully soon, I'll have some more time to make tutorials again. It's been a while & I know you enjoy those...
The most important thing to remember is that this blog wouldn't be here without you so thank you for all the support and being part of my community. 

Want to know what the other Merriers had to say about this topic? Hop over to their blogs. Please bear in mind that the members will be posting at different times of the day, depending on which world time-zone they are in :)
Samantha at Vintage is for lovers - http://www.vintageisforlovers.com/
Jen at Painted Fish Studio - http://paintedfishstudio.com/
Bethany at Dirksen Dabbles - http://www.dirksendabbles.com/
Laura at Blue Terracotta -  http://blueterracotta.com/
Monika at Red2White - http://red2white.wordpress.com/
Mitsy at ArtMind - http://artmind-etcetera.blogspot.com
Kim at Vilt a la Kim - http://viltalakim.com/blog/
Sara at Crafts of Texture - http://sarastexturecrafts.blogspot.com
Mariana at Florcita - http://florcita.eu/wordpress/
Agathe at Le Bar du Vent - http://lebarduvent.blogspot.com
Ruth at Birdland Creations - http://insidetheartisan.blogspot.com

Launch North Story

At last it's launch day!
Over the next few days, we'll be adding new designs to our shops. We'll be listing different items in our shops so you can check to see what's available in Anna's shop and in my shop.

Forest bear - sage

Capillary ring

A leaf and a seedling

Sage sweetpea

These are some of the designs we have available over the next few days. There are pendants coming too in a later phase so you still have something to look forward too.
We're excited and happy to finally be able to share what we've been working on the past months and hope you'll enjoy!

North Story - the process

Do you find it hard to imagine what work has gone into a finished product sometimes?
I do, especially if it concerns a technique I don't know anything about.

That's why I want to show you the process of how the brooches of the North Story are made.

It's a lengthy process that involves lots of sanding, 3 different firings and much patience along the way. But believe me, the result is all worth it...

Press a piece of clay into a mould.

Smooth out the back.

Lift it out of the mould gently.

Smooth the edges with a bit of water.

Let it dry in between plaster plaques.

After they are dry, sand the roughness away and fire it a first time bisque temperature.

After firing, sand again and do a porcelain firing.
And sand again after the porcelain firing.
Jip, that's 3 times sanding...

Meanwhile cut out the screenprinted images.

Put the decal in warm water.

Apply it to the porcelain by gently tearing away the paper underneath the screenprinted image.
Decals are normally used on glazed ware.
We're using unglazed material and this is trickier as the decal is more likely to let loose on unglazed ware.

Rub over it with a clay rib to get the airholes and water out.

Gently rub it with a clean cloth and then fire it at decal temperatures.

I apologize for the gloominess of the pictures - I blame it on the weather conditions! :)

And for the final products, keep an eye on our shops (LilaRubyKing & ArtMind), we'll be listing our new line later this week... :)

Flickr Favorites

1. reflection, 2. misty lake, 3. October sky*,
4. "Espera mãe. Acho que não está focando!"

Since we're lacking a lovely blue sky, I thought I'd create one in my weekly mosaic. What sad summer it has been here and I can see autumn already too. I don't mind as I love autumn but after such a crappy summer, I would appreciate if we would get a mild autumn with reasonable temperatures. But hey, we have to take it as it comes so I shouldn't complain.
I love the cat picture - what a great shot that is. Why is our cat not photogenetic like that? She never seems to take the right pose to make a fab picture but she is supersweet and I suppose not all cats can be supermodels, right?

Next week is the first Tuesday of the month so we play by theme. I'd love to see a teeny, tiny, mini, itsy-bitsy and wee mosaic. If you have a nice theme for next month, don't hesitate to let me know.

Hoera Hip Handwerk

Porcelain labels saying 'sweet' and 'just because'. I made more labels for a fair I'll be attending in about 2 weeks. The fair is on 'open monument day' in the fashion museum in Hasselt.
It's on Sunday September 11th from 10AM until 6PM and the entrance is free.
There will be a variety of sellers with handmade goodies plus there is a lovely new exhibition called 'prints' to see too.
If you have been curious about the new jewellery line that Anna (LilaRubyKing) and I are about to launch, you can come and see it for real then. :) Hope to see you there!

Moeders voor moeders

I'm part of a sew, crochet, knitting- group called the 'knappe knoopjes' or translated 'smart/pretty buttons'. We come together every 3 weeks to work on our projects together and chat the evening away. On our last get together, lots of participants helped to sew, crochet or knit for a non-profit organization called 'Moeders voor moeders' or 'Mothers for mothers'.
This non-profit organization is dedicated to families or single persons with children under 12 years.They help them with food parcels, clothing and more. The poorest children should not miss the fun times so they also help out with gifts for the children's birthday, Christmas, Saint Nicolas, etc.
They were in great need of dark blue and grey scarves and hats for primary school children to fit with their school uniform, so they called out for help for anyone who could help make 'em.
I too picked up my crochet hook and finished a scarf yesterday. It's pretty hard to photograph as it's quite long and very, very curly but I hope the child wearing it will love it and that it will keep her toasty warm. Well I suppose it will be worn by a girl as it's quite a feminine design. :)

Hand leaves

Another glimpse from the North Story...
Not much longer now before the new line will be in our shops!
Happy day everyone!